10 Horror Flicks that Slay (Literally)

Amy Lee

Staff Writer

Scream, Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street. What do these films all have in common besides being beloved and classic horror movies? They’re not scary. At least not by today’s standards.

As a scaredy-cat turned horror movie fanatic, with every new horror movie I watch today, I seek out a greater adrenaline rush than the classics can provide. If you are like me and looking for a movie that will make you feel like a scared little kid again, here are my recommendations.

The Woman in the Yard (2025)

The woman in the yard has become my modern-day Michael Myers, the horror movie villain that I think I see out of the corner of my eye. The film follows a recently-widowed and injured mother of two who finds herself protecting her children from a woman who mysteriously appears in the yard of their farm house. This movie left me on the edge of my seat until the closing scene and terrified of looking in my rearview mirror on a late-night solo drive.

The Strangers (2008)

After returning from a wedding, a couple in an argument returns to their vacation home to deal with a young girl knocking at their door. The Strangers is a slow-burn as the situation steadily escalates into three masked figures torturing the couple in a home invasion and its anticipation creates the vibe of a classic horror movie. As Sydney in Scream put it, horror movie characters are “always running up the stairs when they should be running out the front door. It’s insulting.” Unlike the horror classics, the characters in The Strangers defend themselves realistically, eliminating the frustration that often goes along with watching horror movies.

Heretic (2024)

I was hooked on Heretic after watching one scene from TikTok. As two young Mormon missionaries knock on the door of a suspicious man, their conversation about religion soon turns into a life or death situation as they try to escape the man’s control. This movie intertwines faith with fear in an interesting commentary on belief, and I highly recommend it to any theology majors!

Smile (2022) and Smile 2 (2024)

Smile and Smile 2 show two different stories of people inflicted by the same psychological phenomenon in one of the most unique concepts of modern horror. As each victim watches another person commit brutal suicide with a smile, they  begin to experience hallucinations that make them question their own reality while they try to figure out an escape.

Weapons (2025)

Weapons unveils the story of elementary school children that unexpectedly disappear from their bedrooms one night, leaving one student behind. Weapons differs from other horror movies on the market by developing the plot through multiple, equally interesting perspectives. And for viewers that need comedic breaks from the jump scares, Weapons is calling your name.

While these recommendations may make you scream a little more than, well, Scream, they would not exist without the classics that set up the modern horror genre to be what it is today. And when these newer horror flicks are just too scary that you have to turn off the TV, Ghostface, Michael Myers, Jason, and Freddy Krueger will always be there (whether you like it or not).